1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and processes that evaluate industry scenarios in the past and/or generate industry scenarios for the future.
2. Related Art
History often presents lessons on how to avoid certain predicaments as well as on how to succeed. This is true in personal matters, governmental matters and in specific industries. In the case of a specific industry, it is often a problem for an observer to grasp what factors in an industry, such as the mobile handset industry, are important enough to affect how the industry operates at different points in time.
Even when important factors are identified which drive an industry, it is often difficult to forecast how an industry will develop in the future, say in the next 5 to 10 years. Obviously, a company having the ability to predict future trends in its own industry provides that company many advantages on how to prepare for the future in a way that is most advantageous to the company. In the past, market research has described industry structure by data tables or by two dimensional, two indicators based graphs. Scenario analyses are also a common tool to make predictions about future industry trends and developments. Unfortunately, such market research and scenario analyses were not a reliable way to predict future trends in a particular industry.